Pain across my chest

[WalkingHills]

Hi, I had open heart bypass surgery in May this year and expected the scar to be sore for a few months, but I am still in quite a lot of pain both on the scar and across my chest. Is this normal? If so, does anyone know how long it will take to fully heal and not hurt anymore?

[weepip]

Hi I had my bypass the end of may. I still have what I would call mostly discomfort of the scar and some painfully muscle spasms across the chest some days but other days I almost forget until I reach for something high or really awkward or sneeze , but it is nowhere near what it was for the first couple months . I was told it could be a year for the nerves to sort themselves out but if you still have alot of pain maybe worth having a chat with your GP mine was very good a couple of months ago after I went on a window cleaning spree overdid it and could hardly move my arm for 2 days due to the pain giving me some nice painkillers so I could sleep. I think we all heal differently but it's always worth getting checked if it's causing you issues . Hope you get some answers x

[DoctorZchivago in reply to weepip]

Hi Everyone who has shared their experiences, thank you so much. So reassuring to hear, yes it’s not just the scar but the tenderness on the outside breast tissue so guessing this is nerve endings still to settle down. Then the reminders for not stretching too far. I went for a small car journey yesterday, obviously not driving, but I felt every little bump so don’t think I’ll be doing that for a little while longer. Still so happy to be this side of it all, much to sort yet but no doubt will get there. I am looking forward to the summer when I can hopefully run around after our smallest grandchild again.

[Agatha234]

Sorry to hear that. My scar following bypass has now settled down but it did take about two years . The chest soreness eased after about a year but the scar remained red and raised. It is now thinner and white. I have read that these scars can sometimes be problematic but not in all cases. So hopefully yours will settle down and the discomfort will ease as I think it is still early days for you.

[Redfloyd]

I'm 12 weeks post op, my scat gets a bit itchy at times and I've still got a some numbness top left of my chest where they harvested my vein. I also get a stinging sensation in the evening which can be a bit uncomfortable at times. I haven't had to take painkillers for 4 weeks but was told by my cardiologist that it can take 18 months for these sensations to go and that the numbness make never go but I would just get used to it and ignore it.

[DoctorZchivago in reply to Redfloyd]

Yes I guess it’s a reminder to what we all signed up for on the op day. Guess we have to accept our bodies do react differently and there maybe long term side effects. There are no guarantees. But in the scheme of things they are the price we have to pay. As they said before I left hospital- they had done their bit and it was now up to me to get on the recovery road. So heeding their advice and following instructions, will give my scar till next appt and ask their advice - yes early days and I need to be more patient! And as you say there maybe minor things that we do have to accept and get used to. Good luck , I do hope things settle much better for you .

[CyclingTime]

It's not uncommon as you keep doing new things the better you get which then uses new muscle etcThe hospital told me something which I found helpful to relax me and that was if it is physical pain such as ribs etc then there isn't anything worrying happening with my heart as I was concerned it might be heart related

[DoctorZchivago in reply to CyclingTime]

Yes that’s good advice thank you! Guessing it will be a slow process as we all get back to what we used to do! Just when you have been used to doing everything to being unable to charge about it takes a while to appreciate. But hopefully it’s just a temporary situation and once the internal healing as well as the scar settling, we shall all be able to do a little bit more and get back to our usual! Whatever that is!